Bellevue: A Community Profile

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1 Bellevue: A Community Profile

2 Bellevue: A Community Profile Population and Growth Population is the most basic demographic measure that communities like Bellevue need to plan for in an effective way. Population dynamics profoundly affect and are affected by every aspect of our human culture and society, including household and family formation, health care and longevity, migration, education, land use, environment, transportation systems, the economy, and governmental policies. The following data are from the U.S. Bureau s 1990, 2000 and 2010 decennial censuses as well as the and 2013 American Community Surveys; population data is included from Washington State s Office of Financial Management (OFM). The U.S. Bureau s American Community Survey (ACS) replaced the decennial census long form for gathering detailed information about population and household characteristics essential for federal programs. See the end of this chapter for more information about the American Community Survey. Bellevue s population was estimated at 135,000 on April 1, 2015 by the OFM (Figure 1). 2 Bellevue holds steady as the fifth most populous city in Washington State and the second most in King County. Between 1990 and 2000, Bellevue s population grew at a compound average annual rate of 2.37% per year. However, between 2000 and 2015, population growth slowed to 1.39% per year. Future population growth is expected to average close to 0.87% per year. This expected rate of growth is based on regional population projections 5,950 12,806 and existing development capacity within the City limits , Downtown Bellevue was the fastest growing neighborhood over the last decade increasing by over 175%. In 2015, Downtown had an estimated population of more than 11,000 residents. Crossroads, Factoria, and West Bellevue also grew relatively fast over the decade, whereas Somerset, Sammamish/ East Lake Hills, and Northeast Bellevue all experienced slight declines in population. Potential Implications of Population Characteristics There could be greater demands on local and regional utility and transportation infrastructure (increased pressure on resources such as water supply). There could be greater demand for many City services, such as utilities, parks, human services, and transportation, especially within the Downtown and other areas that are growing quickly. Pressures on open space and habitat from development and redevelopment could continue. A variety of opportunities will be available to tap efficiencies and quality of life improvements associated with increased population density, such as economically viable shops and schools within walking distance to residences. 73, Figure 1. Bellevue s population since incorporation in 1953 to April , , , ,

3 Households The Bureau defines a household as all the people who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence. Over the past decade Bellevue has seen some significant changes in household composition and size. Household Size From 1970 to 2000 Bellevue s average household size declined steadily going from 3.47 persons per household in 1970 to 2.63 in 1980 to 2.41 in 1990 and finally to 2.37 in However in 2010, Bellevue s average household size surprisingly went back up to 2.41, and in was estimated to be This incerase could be due to the most recent recession with more people living with family or other housemates to save money. Also, Bellevue s changing race and ethnic composition may have contributed to higher average household sizes. In comparison to households in other jurisdictions, Bellevue s average household size was smaller than averages in the U.S. and Washington State. However, it was larger than those in Seattle, Kirkland, Redmond and King County as a whole (Figure 2). Seattle Redmond Kirkland BELLEVUE King County Washington United States Figure 2. Average Household and Family Size Comparisons Despite the reversal in trends, Bellevue s household size is projected to decline in the future as the mix of single-family and Average household size Average family size multi-family housing shifts and as a larger proportion of the population are older adults. With a greater proportion of people living in multi-family housing and a greater proportion of people being 65 years of age and older, the average household size is expected to decline. In , the average size of households living in apartments and condominiums was 1.99 compared to 2.80 persons living in single-family houses. Other factors affecting household size include changes in household composition, which are discussed in the next section. Household Composition The proportion of married couples without children remained the largest proportion of Bellevue households in (Figure 3), yet this proportion has declined steadily since 1990, such that in married couples without children comprised about 30 percent of Bellevue s households. Single person households comprised the second largest share of Bellevue s households at 27 percent. This was also down from Married couples with children at 24 percent, and other family households at about five percent were the Other family 5.2% Single parentfemale family 3.7% 2+ person nonfamily 8.7% Single person 26.5% Single parentmale family 1.7% Married couple family with children 23.9% Married couple family without children 30.3% Figure 3. Bellevue Household Type Distribution

4 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 28% 28% 29% 29% 26% United States Washington 31% King County Figure 4. Household Type Distribution Comparisons, % two household types that grew in proportion to other household types since These reversals in trends could reflect changes in Bellevue s race and ethnicity composition and/ or effects from the recession. Bellevue had a slightly higher proportion of married couples without children than the nation, state, county, and other cities like Seattle, Redmond and Kirkland in (Figure 4), but a slightly lower proportion of single person households. 27% 31% 30% 28% Just over 5% of Bellevue households in were single-parent households, compared to 9.6% in the nation and 8.6% in Washington State. Within Bellevue s single-parent households, single-parent mothers were about twice as common as single-parent fathers. Two-person non-family households comprised approximately 9% of all Bellevue households in , and other family households (those with related family members but not a married couple and not parents with their own children) continued to make up only about 1 in 20 Bellevue households. In , Bellevue had a slightly lower percentage of households with children (29.2%) than Redmond (31.1%), and was comparable to the percentage of households with children in the nation (29.0%), Washington State (28.7%) and Kirkland (29.1%). However, Bellevue s percentage of households with children was notably higher than Seattle s (19.1%). 25% 41% 20% BELLEVUE Kirkland Redmond Seattle Generally as one moves east and south across the city the average household size increases. The highest average household sizes in were in the Somerset and Cougar Mountain/Lakemont neighborhood areas with averages as high as 2.98, 2.97 and Northeast Bellevue and West Lake Sammamish also had relatively high averages of 2.84, 2.8 and The lowest average household sizes were in Downtown (1.46), Surrey Downs (1.98), NE Bridle Trails (2.1), Wilburton (2.12) and the area around Bellevue College (2.2). Other areas had average household sizes closer to the citywide average of Age of Residents The pie chart in Figure 5 shows the distribution of Bellevue residents by specific age groups in About 38% of residents were ages 20 to 44 and another 26% were These two cohorts of the working age population made up the majority of Bellevue residents. Preschool age children (infants and children up to 4 years of age) comprised 6.0% of Bellevue s population and school age children (5-19 years of age) almost 16%. Both of these age groups saw a reversal in trends between 2000 and Between 1990 and 2000, both of these groups grew at a slower rate than Bellevue s overall population. However since 2000, they have both grown at a faster rate person non-family Other family Single person Single parent-female family Single parent-male family Married couple family without children Married couple family with children

5 The percentage of Bellevue s population who were older adults also increased from 10.4% in 1990 to 13.4% in 2000, to 14.0% in Figure 5. Age distribution in Bellevue in to 84 years 70 to 74 years 60 to 64 years 50 to 54 years 40 to 44 years 30 to 34 years 20 to 24 years 10 to 14 years Under 5 years Older adults 65 and over 14.0% Workforce (45-64) 26.2% Under 5 years 6.0% Male School age (5-19) 15.9% Workforce (20-44) 38.0% Female -7.0% -5.0% -3.0% -1.0% 1.0% 3.0% 5.0% 7.0% Figure 6. Bellevue s Popualtion Pyramid. Perhaps one of the biggest changes in terms of age distribution since 2000 occurred in Downtown Bellevue where older adults historically comprised the largest share of the population (54% in 1990 and 43 percent in 2000). However in , the young workforce population comprised the majority of the population, while older adults comprised less than 17 percent. Northeast Bellevue, West Lake Sammamish and West Bellevue had some of the highest concentrations of older adults in , upwards of 17 percent. Whereas Cougar Mountain/Lakemont and the northeast part of Bridle Trails had some of the lowest concentrations, with less than ten percent. Somerset, Factoria/Eastgate, the western part of Lake Hills and the eastern part of Crossroads had the highest proportions of children in upwards of 25 percent. Whereas Downtown, northeast Bridle Trails, Wilburton and the southern part of Lake Hills had less than 17 percent children. The older worforce population was more concentrated in the neighborhood areas south of I-90 and in Woodridge, Northeast Bellevue and West Lake Sammamish. Regional and National Comparisons As the population pyramids in Figure 6 show, the age distribution of Bellevue s population in 2010 differed markedly from that of other places in Washington in important ways. 3 Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Washington King County BELLEVUE Redmond Seattle 26

6 Bellevue had a smaller proportion of school age children (17.5%) than did the nation (20.4%), state (19.8%), and county (17.7%), yet it had a larger proportion of school age children than did Redmond (16.2%), Kirkland (14.7%) and Seattle (12.9%). At the other end of the pyramid, Bellevue had the largest proportion of older adults (13.9%) compared to other jurisdictions. Bellevue had a slightly higher proportion of young workforce adults (36.5%) than the nation (33.6%) and state (34.3%). However, in comparison to Redmond (44.7%), Kirkland (41.4%) and Seattle (46.2%), Bellevue s proportion of young workforce adults was much smaller. 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Preschool Age (0-4) School Age (5-19) Workforce (20-44) Workforce (45-64) Older Adults (65+) Some of Bellevue s denser neighborhoods such as the Downtown and Crossroads may need more recreation and transportation facilities and services for a diversity of ages including youth and older adults. The aging of the baby boomers has tremendous implications for Bellevue and other communities. Their preferences, needs, and political clout will lead to changes in many facets of society including programs and services, transportation, housing, and community resources. There will likely be increased demand for respite care and senior day care, and formore generous workplace leave policies for those caring for aging parents, often in addition to being employed and caring for their own children. Diversity Race and Ethnicity With regard to race and ethnicity data, it is important to note that respondents are asked about Hispanic or Latino ethnicity separate from race. For purposes of the, Hispanic is not a racial category. Hispanics can and do identify themselves as White, African American, or any of the other race categories. That said, Hispanics and Latinos Figure 7. Age distribution trends in Bellevue 1990 to Interesting trends to consider are how the proportions of people within different age cohorts have changed over time. Very little change in the proportion of children occurred in Bellevue from 2000 to Similar to other jurisdictions, the proportion of young workforce adults (20-44) declined, while the proportion of workforce adults ages and older adults increased. Some other race 1% Two or more races 4% Asian 29% Hispanic 6% White 58% Implications of Changing Household and Age Characteristics More housing units will be needed as the number of households grows. As the share of older adults increases, average household size will decline generating demand for a greater variety of housing options. Black or African American 2% Figure 8. Bellevue Race and ethnicity distribution,

7 are considered minorities and therefore in this report they are pulled out separately from racial categories. Figure 8. shows Bellevue s race and ethnic distribution in Since 1990, the proportion of minorities in Bellevue has nearly tripled going from 14.7% of the population in 1990, to 28.3% in 2000, to 40.8% in 2010 (Table 1). 3 The minority population includes recent immigrants as well as long-time residents. As Table 1 indicates, Bellevue s Asians and Hispanics are the fastest growing racial and ethnic groups in the city. The population for both these groups more than doubled between 1990 and Asians account for over two-thirds of Bellevue s non-white population. While Chinese residents make up the largest portion of this population (35%), Asian Indians have had the fastest growth rate since 1990, increasing in population by nearly 1,400% (Table 2). Table 1. Race and Ethnicity Trends in Bellevue 2000 to 2010 Demographic Characteristic 2000 Children under the age of 18 are more racially and ethnically diverse than Bellevue s adult population, with minorities being the majority representing just over 51% of the population under 18. Regional and National Comparisons Nationally, ethnic minorities are projected to become the majority by 2042 according to the U.S. Bureau. This could happen much sooner in Bellevue. In , Bellevue was more racially diverse than the nation, state and King County, as well as more diverse than Seattle and Kirkland. Redmond however, had a higher proportion of minorities at 44% compared to Bellevue s 42% (Figure 9). Bellevue had the highest proportion of Asians of any incorporated city in Washington State with Asians comprising 29% of Bellevue s population. Percent of Whole Percent of Whole Change Percent Change Total Population 109, ,363 12, % White alone 78, % 72, % (6,301) (8.0%) Black or African American alone % 2, % % American Indian and Alaska Native alone % % % Asian alone 19, % 33, % 14, % Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone % % (29) (11.7%) Some other race alone % % % Two or more races 3, % 4, % 1, % Hispanic or Latino 5, % 8, % 2, % Minority race or ethnicity 30, % 49, % 19, % *Note: Not all American Community Survey estimates are directly comparable to 1990 and 2000 census figures. Table 2. Bellevue s Asian Population in 1990, 2000 and Percent Change 1990 to 2010 Total Asian Population 8,549 19,011 33, % Chinese 2,620 7,752 11, % Asian Indian 605 3,069 8,963 1,381.5% Korean 1,080 2,351 4, % Other Asian 967 1,767 2, % Japanese 2,228 3,538 2, % Vietnamese 563 1,627 1, % Filipino 486 1,443 1, %

8 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 5% 7% 15% 63% United States 71% Washington 64% King County 29% 58% Figure 9. Regional and national comparisons of race and ethnic distribuion, % 72% 28% 56% 14% 66% BELLEVUE Kirkland Redmond Seattle Hispanic Two or more races Some other race Asian Black or African American White Some key differences exist between the racial make up of the Central Puget Sound region (including Bellevue) and the nation as a whole. The U.S. has a higher percentage of African Americans and Hispanic or Latinos than the Central Puget Sound region. Conversely, this region had a higher percentage of Asians and people of two or more races. In six of Bellevue s 28 census tracts, there were a plurality of races and ethnicities in In another six, minorities comprised over 40% of the population. Eleven tracts had 30% or more minorities, and minorities comprised about 25% or more of the population in the remaining five tracts. Bellevue s Asian populations are dispersed throughout the city, though higher concentrations exist along a central spine going from northeast Bridle Trails south to Crossroads, through Lake Hills to Factoria/ Eastgate, Somerset and Cougar Mountain/ Lakemont, and west to Wilburton and Downtown. Table 3. Bellevue Demographic Trends 1990 to 2010 Demographic Characteristic Population 86, , ,363 Median age Percent female 51.1% 50.4% 49.9% Percent population age 65 and older 10.4% 13.4% 13.9% Percent of a minority race or ethnicity 14.7% 28.3% 40.8% Percent Asian 9.9% 17.4% 27.5% Percent households of one person 26.0% 28.4% 28.1% Housing units 37,428 48,396 55,551 Vacancy rate 4.5% 5.3% 9.4% Percent owner occupied 58.2% 61.5% 58.7% Demographic Characteristic ACS* Percent population foreign born 13.0% 25.0% 35.5% Percent of population (age 5+) that speak a language other than English at home 14.0% 27.0% 39.9% *Note: Not all American Community Survey estimates are directly comparable to 1990 and 2000 census figures.

9 Bellevue s Hispanic and Latino populations tend to be located north of I-90, with Crossroads and West Lake Hills having the highest concentrations (upwards of 15%). Place of Birth There have been major shifts in Bellevue s demographic profile in regard to the City s foreign-born population since As Table 3 indicates, the number of foreign-born residents and residents who immigrated to the United States in the previous ten years has more than doubled during this past decade. Over a third of Bellevue residents were foreign-born in up from 25% in 2000 and 13% in In comparison, only 21% of King County residents and 13% of Washington state residents were foreign-born (Figure 10). Seattle Redmond Kirkland BELLEVUE King County Washington United States 13.4% 13.0% 18.3% 20.4% 21.1% 37.3% 35.5% Figure 10. Percent Foreign-Born Comparisons, Oceania 1.0% Africa 3.1% Latin America 9.2% Northern America 3.3% Asia 66.8% Europe 16.5% Figure 11. Place of Birth for Bellevue s Foreign- Born Residents, The large majority of Bellevue s foreign-born residents were born in Asia (67%) (Figure 11). About 17% were born in Europe and 9% in Latin America. Most foreign-born residents in Bellevue are recent immigrants to the United States, with about 19% having entered the country since Crossroads, Downtown and northeast Bridle Trails had the highest concentrations of foreign born residents, upwards of 45%. Much of the central part of the city and Northwest Bellevue had 30% foreign born and the remaining areas were comprised of about 20% foreign born population. Language Another important indicator of increasing diversity in the community is the number and percentage of residents who speak a language other than English at home. According to the ACS, about 40% of Bellevue residents (age 5 and over) spoke a language other than English at home. This was about three times as high as in 1990, and the second highest percentage in the state for cities with 65,000 in population or more (Table 4 and Figure 12). The Bellevue school district also reported that 87 other first languages were being spoken by children enrolled in the district during the school year. Table 4. Trends in the percentage of Bellevue s population 5 and over that speak a language other than English at home and their ability to speak English Percent of population 5 and over that speak a language other than English at home Percent of population 5 and over that speak English less than very well ACS 14% 27% 40% 12% 6% 16% About 50% of all Bellevue s non-english speakers spoke an Asian language in ; the next highest percentages spoke either Indic (14%), Spanish (12%), Slavic (9%) or other Indo- European languages(8%). 30

10 Figure 12. Percent of Population that Speak a Language other than English at Home The top 10 languages spoken in Bellevue other than English are shown in Table 5. Table 5. Top ten languages spoken at home in Bellevue other than English Language Seattle Redmond Kirkland BELLEVUE King County Washington United States 23.1% 23.6% 18.9% 20.9% 26.6% Percent of all Pop 5 and Older 41.3% 39.9% Percent that speak English less than very well Chinese 9% 50% Spanish or Spanish Creole 5% 44% Other Asian languages 5% 31% Korean 3% 60% Hindi 3% 23% Russian 2% 42% Japanese 1% 42% French (incl. Patois, Cajun) 1% 6% Other Indic languages 1% 34% Persian 1% 40% Of those residents who speak a language other than English, about 39% report that they speak English less than very well. This represents over 15% of all Bellevue residents age 5 and over (Table 4). About ten percent of Bellevue s households were linguistically isolated in Linguistic isolation means a household in which no member over the age of 14 speaks English very well. These households are likely to have the most difficulty with basic day-today communications in that no adult member of the household speaks English well. In , a broad distribution of residents in Bellevue of persons spoke a language other than English at home, with all areas having at least 22% of their populations speaking a foreign language at home. In Crossroads and northeast Bridle Trails between 54 to 63% of the population spoke a foreign language at home, and in Factoria/Eastgate, Somerset, Downtown, Wilburton and west Lake Hills over 40% of residents spoke a foreign language at home. Chinese speakers were concentrated primarily south of I-90 in Factoria, Eastgate and Somerset, whereas Spanish speakers were concentrated in Crossroads and west Lake Hills. The highest concentrations of Korean speakers were in Somerset, Cougar Mountain/Lakemont and near Bellevue College. High concentrations of Russian speakers were located in Woodridge, north Downtown, south of Downtown, Crossroads and Northeast Bellevue. Hindi speakers were primarily concentrated in Crossroads, northeast Bridle Trails and north Downtown. Potential Implications of Racial, Ethnic, and Language Diversity for Bellevue The diversity in Bellevue as indicated by racial and ethnic make-up is significant, and will require more cultural understanding and sensitivity by both public officials and residents. The high number of non-english speakers and residents who report that they do not speak English very well may have implications for the way the City, other public agencies such as schools, businesses, and other institutions provide services and make information accessible to the diverse population. Certain neighborhoods with higher concentrations of language diversity may need special services or facilities such as multilingual street signs or bus schedules to ensure residents are able to find their way to goods and services. 31

11 Education Bellevue adults are highly educated and increasingly so. The percentage of Bellevue residents 25 years of age or older with at least a bachelor s degree went from 31% in 1990 to 35% in 2000, to 36% in (Table 6). 3 During that same period, the percentage with a graduate or professional degree went from 14% to 19%, to 26%. These levels in Bellevue are, in general, higher than they are in King County as a whole, and levels in King County are in turn higher than they are in the State and U.S. Table 6. Trends in Bellevue s Level of Educational Attainment for the population 25 years and older Level of educational attainment In , in all but two census tracts in Bellevue, 50% or more of the residents 25 years and over had a bachelor s degree or higher. Upwards of 68% of residents living in Cougar Mountain/Lakemont, Somerset, north Downtown and Bridle Trails had bachelor s degrees or higher. Lake Hills, Factoria/Eastgate, West Lake Sammamish and Newport had over 50% of residents with bachelor s degrees or higher. In all other areas, over 58 percent of residents had a bachelor s degree or higher. Income Income is one of the most fundamental indicators of what is happening in a community. To estimate annual income, the 2000 long-form sample used the calendar year prior to Day as the reference period, and the ACS uses the 12 months prior to the interview date as the reference period. Thus, while ACS Less than 9th grade 2% 2% 3% 9th to 12th grade, no diploma 4% 4% 2% High school graduate (includes equivalency) 16% 13% 11% Some college, no degree 25% 21% 15% Associate s degree 8% 7% 7% Bachelor s degree 31% 35% 36% Graduate or professional degree 14% 19% 26% collected income information for calendar year 1999, the ACS collects income information for the 12 months preceding the interview date. The responses are a mixture of 12 reference periods ranging from, in the case of the ACS 3-year estimates, the full calendar year of 2010 through December The ACS income responses for each reference period are individually inflation-adjusted to represent dollar values for the latest ACS year in the period. Median Income Between 1999 and median household income in the nation, state, and county decreased, whereas median household income in Seattle, and Bellevue increased (Table 7). 3 Bellevue s median household income was higher than the Nation s, State s and King County s as a whole and higher than Seattle s. Income Distribution About 45% of Bellevue s households had household incomes of $100,000 or more per year during (Table 8), and Bellevue residents in the highest income quintile accounted for about 49% of the City s aggregate income and the top five percent accounted for about 22%, similar to the distribution of shares of aggregate income in the nation as a whole. Poverty Levels Poverty is measured for purposes of the by using several thresholds that vary by family or household size. A family s or individual s income is then compared to the appropriate thresholds to establish poverty level. For example, in 2013, a family of four with an income under $23,834 was considered below 32 Table 7. Median Household Income Trends 1989* 1999* * Bellevue $80,766 $88,597 $91,260 Seattle $54,126 $65,001 $65,454 King County $66,713 $75,548 $70,998 Washington State $57,501 $65,058 $58,592 United States $55,423 $59,683 $52,176 Note: *All figures in 2013 inflation adjusted dollars

12 the poverty level. These income thresholds are consistent throughout the country. Highest Quintile 49% Lowest Quintile 3% Second Quintile 9% Fourth Quintile 22% Third Quintile 15% Figure 13. Shares of aggregate household income by quintile in Bellevue, It should also be noted that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses a different approach for identifying low-income thresholds that takes geographic differences in median income into account. The HUD-defined fiscal year 2013 income limit for a very low-income (50% of Area Median Income or AMI) family of four in the Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area, (including King and Snohomish counties) was $43, HUD s income limit for an extremely low-income (30% of AMI) family of four was $26,000. The fact that HUD s low-income limits are so much higher than the Bureau s poverty thresholds for this area underlines the care needed when considering poverty rates. While poverty rates remained below national averages in , Bellevue s poverty rate has slowly increased over the decades as shown in Table 9. The poverty rate was higher for children (10.1%) and for families with a female householder, no husband present with related children under 18 years of age (33.9%). Per capita income was highest in the southeast and northwest ranging from about $58k to $68k. In contrast, areas in the central part of the city had per capita incomes beween about $27k and $38k. Other areas had per capita incomes in the $40k to $52k range. Poverty rates were highest around Bellevue College, Crossroads and west Lake Hills, falling upwards of 16%. Rates of poverty were lower further south and north and outwards toward the shores of Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish. Poverty rates for children were highest in west Lake Hills and Downtown. Table 8. National and regional comparisons in income distribution, Income Category United States Washington King County Bellevue Seattle Less than $10,000 8% 6% 6% 4% 8% $10,000 to $14,999 6% 4% 3% 2% 4% $15,000 to $24,999 11% 9% 7% 6% 8% $25,000 to $34,999 10% 9% 8% 6% 8% $35,000 to $49,999 14% 13% 11% 9% 11% $50,000 to $74,999 18% 19% 17% 14% 16% $75,000 to $99,999 12% 13% 13% 14% 12% $100,000 to $149,999 13% 15% 17% 21% 16% $150,000 to $199,999 5% 6% 8% 9% 8% $200,000 or more 5% 5% 9% 14% 9% 33

13 Table 9. Education and Economic Trends in Bellevue 1990 to Demographic Characteristic ACS* Percent of adults (age 25+) with at least bachelor s degree 46% 54% 62% Percent of employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations 40% 53% 59% Household median income (in 2013 inflation adjusted dollars) $80,766 $88,597 $91,260 Percent of individuals with incomes below poverty 5.6% 5.7% 8.5% Percent of families with incomes below poverty 3.4% 3.8% 5.7% *Note: Not all American Community Survey estimates are directly comparable to 1990 and 2000 census figures. Implications of Income Characteristics for Bellevue Even though larger proportions of Bellevue s households fell within the highest income categories in , the percentages of individuals and families living in poverty rose, and over a quarter of Bellevue s households had incomes less than $50,000. More analysis is needed on whether pockets of poverty are growing within the community and if there are longterm trends associated with this factor. An increase in the number of Bellevue individuals with incomes below the poverty level has and will have an impact on the provision of human services. The American Community Survey The U.S. Bureau s American Community Survey (ACS) replaced the decennial census long form for gathering detailed information about population and household characteristics essential for federal programs. The major benefit of the ACS over the decennial long form is its timeliness. ACS estimates are released annually, every 3 years, and every 5 years instead of only once every 10 years. One of the major differences is that ACS estimates do not offer a snap shot view of characteristics for a specific date, but instead provide average characteristics over a period of time (one year, three years, or five years). For instance, the ACS 5-year estimates used in this report describe the average characteristics for the City of Bellevue over the 60 month period from January 2009 through December Like the long form, ACS estimates are not intended to count the population, but instead they draw from a sample population to provide information on a community s population and household characteristics. Because they are estimates and not counts, they are subject to sampling error, the degree of which the Bureau represents through margins of error based on a 90 percent confidence interval. Annually, the ACS surveys about 1 in 40 households, resulting in a relatively small sample size. Therefore annual estimates have relatively large margins of error and are available only for geographies with population sizes of at least 65,000. Three- and five-year ACS estimates use data that have been aggregated over those time periods, which reduces the margins of error and increases the number of geographies reported on. For example, annual estimates are only available for the eleven largest cities in Washington State, 3-year estimates are available for 58 cities and census designated places, and 5-year estimates are available for every city as well as for Tracts and Block Groups. The 5-year ACS estimates enable us to look at neighborhood trends and patterns. However, it is important to note that ACS and decennial census estimates on similar subjects may not always be comparable due to differences in residence rules, universes and/or reference periods. 1 34

14 Endnotes 1. U.S. Bureau s American Community Survey (ACS). programs-surveys/acs/ 2. Washington State Office of Financial Management, Forecasting Division. Official April 1, 2015 Population Estimates U.S. Bureau, decennial censuses and American Community Survey estimates. nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml 4. US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Income Limits. huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html 35